Friday, September 18, 2009

On September 11, 2009, my friend told his experience of September 11, 2001. He was robbed of his brother, a NYC Fireman, and his lifelong best friend who worked in the WTC. They were murdered. No other word describes it. NEVER FORGET!

Free and open to the public 24 hours a day from Friday, Sept. 18 throughSunday, Sept. 20, the replica is eight feet high and 240 feet long. Its black,reflective surface is inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 servicemenand women who died or are missing in Vietnam. Paper and pencils will beprovided so visitors can make rubbings of names etched on the wall.

Created by the Dignity Memorial network of funeral, cremation and cemeteryservice providers in 1990, the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is dedicated toall Americans who served in Vietnam and honors all veterans of the U.S.military. The three-day exhibit is sponsored locally by Phoenix Memorial Parkand Mortuary and VFW Post 9400.

"The monument was created as a service to those who might never travel to thenation's capital to experience the Vietnam Veterans Memorial firsthand," saidDan Salter, director of Dignity Memorial providers in the Phoenix area. "Ourreplica offers visitors a chance for healing and reflection, and we are verypleased to be able to share it with the community," he said.

Activities and ceremonies planned in conjunction with the exhibition includethe following:

-- A motorcade of Vietnam veterans and other riders from area motorcycle clubs will depart Buddy Stubbs Anthem Harley-Davidson in Anthem, Ariz. at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15 to escort the replica to Phoenix Memorial Park, where it is scheduled to arrive around 4 p.m.

-- An Education Day on Thursday, Sept. 17 will make the replica available to pre-registered school groups from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

-- The exhibit will open to the public Friday, Sept. 18. OpeningCeremonies will begin at 9 a.m. Guest speakers include state legislator Carl Seel, gubernatorial candidate Ben Jankowski and master of ceremonies Sarge Lintecum. Lintecum is a highly-decorated, three-tour Vietnam combat veteran. Well known for his recording "Vietnam Blues," Lintecum is a poet, singer, songwriter, musician and entertainer who uses his Vietnam experiences as inspiration for his powerful works.

-- A silent auction from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept. 19, will benefit the VFW's efforts to provide assistance for local military families facing deployment.

-- A sunset POW / MIA ceremony Saturday, Sept. 19 will include a candlelight vigil and the reading of the names of prisoners of war and those missing in action.

-- Closing Ceremonies will begin at 2:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20 with a motorcycle salute to Vietnam veterans and will conclude the burial of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Vault of items and memorabilia left at the exhibit throughout the weekend. The burial ceremony will include a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps.

After Phoenix, the exhibit will be on display in Houston, Texas, fromSeptember 25-27, 2009. To date, the replica has traveled to more than 200cities across the country and has been visited by millions of Americans.

The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall is one of many efforts of the DignityMemorial network to honor and support our nation's veterans and activemilitary. Other initiatives and programs include the Veterans Planning Guide,the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, educational veteransseminars and special pricing and benefits for members of three veteransservice organizations.

Phoenix Memorial Park is a proud Dignity Memorial provider in Phoenix. TheDignity Memorial network of more than 1,600 funeral, cremation and cemeteryservice providers is North America's most trusted resource for funeral andmemorialization services. Dignity Memorial providers offer an unmatchedcombination of products and locations serving families with care, integrity,respect and service excellence. For more information, call 623-434-7000 or visit www.DignityMemorial.com.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

There were people of all ages, all ethnicities, all walks of life. There were many signs. Almost everyone had a sign (I did not). I saw only 1 or 2 commerically printed signs - almost all were homemade. The senior citizens signs were by far the most elaborate. Here are some of my favorite signs:

I saw only a few police there the entire time. It was very relaxed. Families with children running around and playing. It was like a block party!

And, as per normal for any event in AZ, there were a significant number of folks openly carrying. Also, per normal for any event in AZ, it was no big deal.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Eight years ago today, our homeland was attacked by fanatical Muslims inspired by Saudi Arabian bigotry. Three thousand American citizens and residents died.

We resolved that we, the People, would never forget. Then we forgot.

We've learned nothing.

Instead of cracking down on Islamist extremism, we've excused it.

Instead of killing terrorists, we free them.

Instead of relentlessly hunting Islamist madmen, we seek to appease them

Instead of acknowledging that radical Islam is the problem, we elected a president who blames America, whose idea of freedom is the right for women to suffer in silence behind a veil -- and who counts among his mentors and friends those who damn our country or believe that our own government staged the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

Instead of insisting that freedom will not be infringed by terrorist threats, we censor works that might offend mass murderers. Radical Muslims around the world can indulge in viral lies about us, but we dare not even publish cartoons mocking them.

Instead of protecting law-abiding Americans, we reject profiling to avoid offending terrorists. So we confiscate granny's shampoo at the airport because the half-empty container could hold 3.5 ounces of liquid.

Instead of insisting that Islamist hatred and religious apartheid have no place in our country, we permit the Saudis to continue funding mosques and madrassahs where hating Jews and Christians is preached as essential to Islam.

Instead of confronting Saudi hate-mongers, our president bows down to the Saudi king.

Instead of recognizing the Saudi-sponsored Wahhabi cult as the core of the problem, our president blames Israel.

Instead of asking why Middle Eastern civilization has failed so abjectly, our president suggests that we're the failures.

Instead of taking every effective measure to cull information from terrorists, the current administration threatens CIA agents with prosecution for keeping us safe.

Instead of proudly and promptly rebuilding on the site of the Twin Towers, we've committed ourselves to the hopeless, useless task of rebuilding Afghanistan. (Perhaps we should have built a mosque at Ground Zero -- the Saudis would've funded it.)

Instead of taking a firm stand against Islamist fanaticism, we've made a cult of negotiations -- as our enemies pursue nuclear weapons; sponsor terrorism; torture, imprison, rape and murder their own citizens -- and laugh at us.

Instead of insisting that Islam must become a religion of responsibility, our leaders in both parties continue to bleat that "Islam's a religion of peace," ignoring the curious absence of Baptist suicide bombers.

Instead of requiring new immigrants to integrate into our society and conform to its public values, we encourage and subsidize anti-American, woman-hating, freedom-denying bigotry in the name of toleration.

Instead of pursuing our enemies to the ends of the earth, we help them sue us.

We've dishonored our dead and whitewashed our enemies. A distinctly unholy alliance between fanatical Islamists abroad and a politically correct "elite" in the US has reduced 9/11 to the status of a non-event, a day for politicians to preen about how little they've done.

We've forgotten the shock and the patriotic fury Americans felt on that bright September morning eight years ago. We've forgotten our identification with fellow citizens leaping from doomed skyscrapers. We've forgotten the courage of airline passengers who would not surrender to terror.

We've forgotten the men and women who burned to death or suffocated in the Pentagon. We've forgotten our promises, our vows, our commitments.

We've forgotten what we owe our dead and what we owe our children. We've even forgotten who attacked us.

We have betrayed the memory of our dead. In doing so, we betrayed ourselves and our country. Our troops continue to fight -- when they're allowed to do so -- but our politicians have surrendered.

Are we willing to let the terrorists win?

Ralph Peters' new thriller, "The War After Armageddon," goes on sale next Tuesday

I have two friends who were born in Cuba. They are brother and sister. Their parents escaped from Cuba to Spain when their son was about 12 years old. Ultimately, they made their way to the United States and became citizens. The son joined the United States Marines, then went on to college (Go Gators!). The daughter also went to college. The parents rished everything to literally give their son and daughter liberty as found only in the United States of America. These two wonderful siblings then, in turn, literally supported and took care of their parents in their twilight years (since, by the time they arrived in the USA, there really wasn't time left to build up a retirement). I tell ths story to demonstrate just what fine individuals my two friends are and what incredible people their parents were. Their parents were Americans in the most fundamental way - yearning for freedom and willing to give up everything in order to ensure that for their children.

I worked with the brother for years. Occasionally, you could get him to talk about life in Cuba (remember, he was there until he was 12 so his memories aren't vague). One story in particular I am reminded of today - as a student, when the President was having one of his parades you were required to stand out there along the parade route and act as if you adored him. In fact, if you refused not only would you, the child, be punished, but your family would be too. Your father might loose his job or he might simply vanish leaving the family to wonder if they'd ever see him again and leaving the family to fend for themselves for food and housing and the other necessities of life.

There are school districts across the country today who are requiring that your children listen to the presidents speech tomorrow. I ask, or else what?

Nearly two years ago, Pops became quite ill and then passed away at 83 years of age. Pops was in the Army in WWII and the Marines in Korea. Pops settled into a job at an auto manufacturing plant where he worked faithfully for 32 years. He would have continued working but they closed the facility and he retired rather than move to Detroit.

Pops was a near lifelong member of the United Auto Workers (UAW). As a child, I watched a resourceful, independent surivor of the Great Depression, an Oklahoma Dust Bowl farm, WWII, and Korea transform from a proud capable man who wouldn't take charity unless he was literally starving into a man who embraced the entitlement mentality pushed by the UAW.

When Pops became ill in the fall of 2007, the family agreed that I should acquire Conservatorship over him and his estate, which I did. As a result of that, I am still recieving items in the mail for him including the UAWs newsletter/magazine, Solidarity. I ignored it for well over a year. When I finally read one of them, my worst suspsicions were confirmed beyond any doubt. The UAW leadership is communist. It's not like this surprised me as their actions over the years clearly demonstrated their ideology. But, to see it in print was sickening.

1) Do you think the UAW membership knows they're commies? or at least commie supporters?

I don't think the majority knows or cares - much like the rest of the sleepy American citizenry. I know Pops, after fighting communists in Korea, would have bristled even at the question.

2) Do you think the UAW leadership knew all the connotations of the word Solidarity when it was chosen as the name for their magazine to communicate to the membership?

I believe they did.

Now we are left contemplating what to do about this. If you need a new vehicle and wish to buy American, your only choice is Ford unless you're willing to purchase a Government Motors (GM) vehicle.. At least Ford didn't take bail out money (this last time). But, every Ford employee is forced to become a member of the UAW so purchasing a Ford is, in essence, supporting the communist leadership of the UAW.

You could purchase a Honda or Toyota or a vehicle made by a number of other foreign owned manufacturers. While this would be supporting Americans who build those vehicles, it would also be sending a portion of the profits overseas.

I'm not sure of the new ownership of Saturn but that might be a possibility since the manufacturing facilities are in right-to-work states.

Perhaps the only to do in this case is calculate how much of a purchase would go to the UAW and contrast it with how much goes to the manufacturer, the suppliers, the dealership and other local businesses which exist as a result of the dealership employees.

Ordinary everyday American citizens from all walks of life, all education levels, all professions/trades regularly demonstrate greater knowledge of and respect for their Constitution than their elected representatives.

Case in point:

Get ACTIVE people. You are a better defender of your rights, the Consitution, and the rule of law than a majority of the elected officials of this country.

These people are unbelievable! They have NO class! They can't just disagree, no they instantly leap to the adhominen. There is no reason to blame any of their inability to pass anything on Republicans. Republicans were not even consulted on their beloved commie-care bill. Republicans can't block anything since they are a minority in all branches of government. No, Mr. Jones, we are not the "assholes". But your party is full of them.

These Czars are an outrage! Who the hell do they think they are anyway? I remind them they are NOT untouchable! They want to start prosecuting the previous admins... ok, when you're out, we're coming after you with the same intensity.

For the record, while there is a "pro-choice" opinion included, I never will support any abortion for any reason (and yes, I know what I just said). I considered excluding that link and decided against it since, unlike the owner of the blog who bannishes those who express a nonconforming opinion (and says "get your own blog" only to stalk and mock those of us who did just that), we support free speech.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

On August 21, 2009 President Obama issued a Ramadan Message "On behalf of the American people... to Muslims in American and around the world." He also spoke of " Islam’s role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings." Hear and see the President say these things for yourself.

Tonight, President Obama hosts a dinner "in honor of Ramadan" in the State Dining Room of the White House. You'll be able to watch this live.

History shows us that islam has not been instrumental in advancing justice, tolerance, nor dignity. In fact, history shows us the exact opposite. Therefore, I can only conclude that our President has been and remains either brainwashed, possessed, or he's just a liar and he's acting stupidly.